MLA accused of promoting rape, kidnap and murder of sheep in Australia Day ad complaints

Meat and Livestock Australia is accused of promoting the rape, kidnap and murder of sheep in just one of hundreds of complaints received by the advertising watchdog since the campaign, starring SBS newsreader Lee Lin Chin, launched two weeks ago.

Many of the complaints about the TV version of the ad were dismissed outright because they complained about a scene where a vegan’s home is torched, which appears only in the longer online version. Most had seen the scene in news broadcasts and on breakfast shows such as Sunrise.

MLA responded to the complaints saying it was allowed to use humour “even in dubious taste” to promote its products.

The ASB has now released three separate reports totalling 140 pages, considering complaints about the TV ad, complaints about the online ad and complaints about the online/social version of the ad.

Complainants called for the ad to be banned on a range of 11 different measures the ASB uses, including:

The reports lists dozens of the complaints received as a sample of the hundreds that had swamped the ASB’s office in recent days and which continue to flow in.

Many of the complaints focused on the treatment of a vegan and also the appropriation of an Aboriginal boomerang as a symbol of the Australia Day “rescue mission”.

People claim the ad has reduced children to tears, provoked supporters of the campaign to threaten and bully vegans and used military themes in an ad about a day that indigenous Australians see as “invasion day”.

“I have personally received a threat saying ” I will burn down your house like on that Australia Day Lamb ad if you don’t f*** off”,” one complainant wrote.

Other comments were along a similar vein:

“The meat industry is getting scared of losing money so they are making anyone who doesn’t eat meat feel like ‘pussys’.”

“Not only is the name ‘Operation Boomerang’ offensive to Australian Aborigines but it also features special agents invading other countries on a day many indigenous people already see as invasion day”.

“As a result of this ad, I have seen and personally encountered abuse from others because I do not consume animal products.”

“The comments about and to vegans following the ad have been aggressive rude and violent so the ad is an incite to hatred. It must be pulled from circulation for social cohesion.”

“It is discriminatory to Vegans and scares Vegan children”.

“It also marginalizes many of Australia’s Indian migrant community (as the majority of them are vegetarian or vegan from a cultural background), by saying that you’re “un-Australian” if you don’t eat meat”.

One complaint went as far as to claim MLA was promoting “rape” and “kidnapping” of sheep.

“Ad says if you don’t eat lamb you are not Australian, it suggests Vegans are idiots (because they do not participate in the rape/kidnap/murder of lambs/sheep.)”

Complaints listed in the report on the online element of the campaign expressed similar concerns, while those submitted about the social media part of the campaign highlighted threats of violence towards them and bullying as a result of the campaign.

“The ad has encouraged people to voice hatred towards myself and other Vegans – on Facebook and the Sunrise morning TV show yesterday morning, as an example,” one complaint said.

“We know that Meat and Livestock are violent towards animals and now they are directing their violence towards humans,” said another.

Other complaints pointed out that if the vegan in the ad had been replaced by another minority or religious figure, the ad would not have been approved.

“What if another minority group was put in place of vegans? Why is it ok to make fun of vegans, but not other minority groups?”

In its response to the ad, compiled quickly to meet the ASB’s fast-track deadline due to the limited life of the campaign, MLA said that the ASB had a history of “taking a robust approach to interpretation of the content of these advertisements”.

“The Advertisement depicts a far-fetched military-style operation to bring expatriates back to Australia on Australia Day so that they can enjoy lamb with their compatriots,” said the MLA response.

“The Advertisement does not have a CAD reference as it was created for and published only on social media platforms and has not been broadcast by MLA or at its request on free-to-air commercial television.

“The laws and codes rightly give MLA considerable freedom to use humour, even of dubious taste, to communicate these messages.”

The ASB said that it could not make a determination on the longer version of the ad broadcast on shows such as Sunrise, while the shorter version (made for TV) did not include the scenes many people complained about.

“The Board noted that in this instance the advertisement is a continuation of the irreverent theme used in past versions of the advertiser’s promotion of lamb for Australia Day and considered that whilst some members of the community could find the advertisement to be in poor taste, the issue of taste does not fall under the Code of Ethics.”

It also rejected claims of vilification, promotion of violence and other issues in relation to both the online and online/social elements of the campaign.

Simon is Mumbrella's marketing and advertising editor. In a career spanning journalism and communications over more than 30 years Simon has become one of Australia’s most respected analysts and commentators on the advertising, marketing and media industries. A regular commentator on radio and TV, Simon has also worked in media in the US and UK .

Aussies used to have a great sense of humour. We’d laugh at most things whether it was PC or not. When was the last time you all heard a cracking joke in the office or from your friends?

In a world that is being dramatised by commercial news broadcasts with over-coloourful adjectives (just watch C7 news the home of dramatic news) and everyone being scared of saying the wrong thing in case of offending sensitive people can everyone chill a bit.

Some of those comments are like the ones when some scientists got some CO2 up their lab coats when ‘The Day After tomorrow” was release and banged on their thermometers that an event like that wouldn’t happen in that way. The studio replied “It’s A Movie!”.

Imagine the social stratosphere PC comments if Fast Forward, Paul Hogan, D Generation and the other great Oz comedy shows were airing today with the same content, jokes and skits (a lot that were so not PC) that made us laugh, cringe and share at work.

Whether you like the ad or not, good on you Monkeys and MLA for giving us something to laugh about – if not the ad then certainly the comments and “uproar” it’s generated.

The complainers are taking the wrong angle.
The real issue here is that not being funny is a crime against comedy.
It’s really sad to see how Australian comedy has waned in recent years, with the notable exception of the robust, in-your-face “Housos” – which was mainly funny for who it annoyed.
This isn’t the same – this Sam whatever-his-name-is and co are trying, but the writing talent just isn’t there, the directing and timing aren’t there. It’s lame. It’s embarrassing.

@Mike – your statement lost all credibility when you typed “It’s really sad to see how Australian comedy has waned in recent years, with the notable exception of the robust, in-your-face “Housos”

“Housos”. Yep. Comedy Gold.

I really hope you were being tongue in cheek. But assuming you’re not, then by your own logic, this Lamb ad should be hilarious by your ‘comedy rating meter’ because it annoyed a bunch of people, according to the ASB.

I agree with your “It’s lame. It’s embarrassing” part though. Oh hang on, you meant the ad, not ‘Housos’…

It may interest readers to learn that the funniest complaint (the allegation of ritual rape/murder of sheep) is in fact an oft-repeated mantra of the vegan militant project which is deliberately setting out to destroy animal agriculture in this country.

Vegan websites, particularly on facebook, create co-ordinated campaigns. One of their key mantras is that the “forced impregnation” of farm animals (i.e. letting them run with bulls and rams etc) is rape.

The campaign against this advertisement was a co-ordinated effort by vegan groups on facebook. Their facebook pages are full of threats of retribution against the meat industry.

I like how most of the posts say people should get a sense of humour. I agree, the writing and directing of this piece is absolute shite. It’s classic advertising hypster meets aussie guy with a southern cross tattoo… boring!! Not offended, just not funny.

@ DVDA and others who make judgements about the production and/or its right to be called comedy, and/or its degree of funniness.

The ads are clearly intended to amuse; the degree to which they will amuse is beyond the control of the writers, producers, actors, or the director.

Any production, comedic or dramatic, depends in the final analysis upon the audience. The willingness of those who view the work, to suspend disbelief and/or engage in the crazy nature of the plot and the action. In the case of these Australia Day ads, the producers did extremely well within the inherent time confines of driving a marketing message via the media to the maximum number of people who will experience the ads.

It is not possible for me to read your lips, but why don’t you read my opinion (the one to which you have replied) more carefully, you will see that within it, I have already supported your right to deem it funny or not.

Dear Richard
To say that the extent to which people find this “amusing” is out of the control of the writers and directors is the most amusing thing I’ve heard so far!! You know that there are writers and directors that create TVCs that go beyond amusing and delve into the world of being funny!

Of course the MLA’s ad attacks vegans. They are a minority group in Australia that most people think are a bit odd. Easy target, guaranteed an easy laugh. And guaranteed to get riled up if you laugh at them.

And of course vegans are not the MLA’s biggest problem in terms of the Australian meat consumption market. About 30 years ago, Australians consumed equivalent amounts of chicken and lamb. Since then, lamb consumption has halved and chicken has doubled. Chicken is cheaper and perceived as more convenient and healthier*. And no amount of blokey ads will change that.

If the MLA want to pick a fight with someone who is a real threat to them then they’d go after chicken. But they are too busy being chickens** so they go after easy targets like vegans instead.

*I am not a chicken industry shill. And yes I know that many of the farming practices of the chicken industry are unpleasant.
**Did you see what I did there? With gags like that, I should be writing MLA ads.

As the meat eating son of a family of Vegans, It is my duty to give my parents and brother a hard time about their lifestyle choice at every family event. I do this out of love. Nobody hates vegans. My family know this, and imo all of them do.

It’s the same treatment we give our mate for driving a Great Wall ute (great ute maate) and it’s the same treatment we give our work mate that gets a new haircut.

This isn’t bullying a minority group, it’s laughing at our mates. We do this pretty much for anyone who steps a little outside of ‘the norm’.